Transfers of ICE Detainees from theHamilton County JailChattanooga, Tennessee

Detainees Transferred

Number last 12 months

170

Out of total detained

177

Percent change:

from previous 12 months

110 %

from FY 2005

270 %

from FY 2000

204 %

Facility ranking on transfers

top 49 %

Table 1: Transfers

During the most recent 12 month period for which data are available, a total of
170 detainees were transferred by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
from the Hamilton County Jail where they
had been temporarily housed to other facilities. The average
stay for these individuals before their transfer was 5 days.
The use of this facility for the temporary housing of federal immigration detainees was arranged
through an intergovernmental service agreement (IGSA) under which payments by ICE to another governmental
agency are made for housing federal detainees.
Additional information about the arrangement, including whether a private company may operate the
facility for the government, was not available at the time this report was posted.

Transfers made up 96 percent of the 177 detainees who in one way or
another left this facility during the last 12 months.
This report focuses just on these transfers.
The remaining 4 percent of individuals who departed from the Hamilton County Jail last
year actually left ICE detention.
These individuals were deported from the country, released
under supervision while their cases was being decided, or left ICE detention for a variety of other
reasons.
For more information on this facility please see additional TRAC reports in this series.

This report series is based upon analyses conducted by the Transactional Records
Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University of 3.4 million government
records tracking each individual who passed through an ICE detention facility
during the past decade. The most recent 12 month period for which comprehensive data are
available is for April 2007 through March 2008. See About the Data.

How This Facility Ranks Nationally

Detainee transfer rankings. The Hamilton County Jail was one of 1,528 facilities that were used to
house immigration detainees during the last decade, and one of 654 facilities
nationwide that housed ICE detainees during the most recent 12 month period. Of
these 654, there were 403 facilities that had at least 10 ICE detainee transfers
last year. Excluding those facilities with fewer than 10 transfers, the
Hamilton County Jail last year ranked in the top 49 percent nationwide in
the number of individuals it transferred to other ICE facilities.
This means that 49 percent of the locations contributed the same or a
larger numbers of transfers, while 51
percent had a smaller number. See Table 1.

Average length of stay before transfer. Once detainees arrived at the Hamilton County Jail their
average length of stay before being transferred on to another ICE facility was 5 days last year.
Ranking facilities from longest to shortest detention stays for their transfer population,
this average of 5 days placed Hamilton County Jail
in the top 56 percent of all facilities nationwide.
That is, for detainees who are transferred, 56 percent
of ICE detention facilities have the same or longer average stays last year, while 44 percent
of detention facilities had shorter average stays.

Trends in the Number of Detainees Transferred

Transfers last year. When the ICE detainee transfers during the April
2007-March 2008 period were compared with those in the previous 12 months, the
Hamilton County Jail numbers were sharply up by 110 percent. During the previous
April 2006-March 2007 period the facility processed 81 transfers as compared
with 170 last year.
As detailed in Table 1, transfers last year were also up by 270 percent
as compared with the number of transfers (46) during FY 2005.
Transfers last year were also up by 204 percent as compared with the number of
transfers (56) during FY 2000.

Figure 1: Month-by-month detainee transfers from this facility

Longer term transfer trends. Greater detail on these long-term trends in ICE
transfers from the Hamilton County Jail are displayed in Figure 1. Here
the month-by-month number of transfers are graphed against the backdrop of the
total detainees leaving the custody of this facility. Transfers are displayed
with darker shading while those deported or released appear with lighter
shading.
As is readily apparent, considerable variation has occurred over time
in both the overall numbers of detainees as well as the volume of transfers
during this period.

Fiscal Year

ICE Detainees

Total

Transfers

Percent

1999

4

0

0 %

2000

114

56

49 %

2001

223

198

89 %

2002

206

178

86 %

2003

169

126

75 %

2004

98

71

72 %

2005

58

46

79 %

2006

73

62

85 %

2007

159

151

95 %

2008 (est)

130

124

95 %

Table 2: Detainee transfers from this facility over the last decade

Transfer trends for the last decade are summarized by fiscal year in Table 2. Year-by-year
figures for the Hamilton County Jail are given for the total number of
detainees as compared with the number transferred from the facility. The
percent of detainees that end up being transferred from the facility is also
given. (As mentioned above, the remaining detainees end up deported, released
under supervision, or leave ICE detention for some other reason.) Because data
for all twelve months of the most recent fiscal year are not yet available, the
FY 2008 numbers (October 2007 through September 2008) are estimated based upon
reporting for the first six months.

Origins and Destinations

Were these detainees arrested locally? Where did those that ended up being
transferred from the Hamilton County Jail last year originate?
Information on the place of arrest was not included in the available data ICE
released. However, we can examine whether the Hamilton County Jail was
the first ICE facility in which these detainees were held.
According to ICE records, for the vast majority (99 percent) of
these detainees, the Hamilton County Jail was the first place they were
sent when they were detained by ICE.
The remaining 1 percent had been
transferred in from another ICE detention facility.

We can also look at how quickly they arrived at this facility after they were
first detained.
A total of 100 percent arrived at the Hamilton County Jail at some point
during the very first day they were detained by ICE. This
percentage is also based on an analysis of the most recent 12 months for which
data are available.

How soon did transfers occur? Nationally, the median number of days before an
ICE detainee is transferred to another facility was 3 days last year. That
means that half of all transfers occurred on or before the third day, while half
had longer stays before they were transferred on to another ICE facility. Note
that nationally the average stay at an ICE detention facility before an
individual is transferred is substantially longer - 18 days. This is because
while most detainees have relatively short stays before ICE transfers them
elsewhere, sometimes stays are lengthy and these lengthy stays raise the average
to above the median stay of 3 days.

For the Hamilton County Jail last year, the median stay before a detainee
was transferred was 5 days. This is longer than the national figure.
The average stay before transfers occurred was the same - 5 days - than the median stay. As noted above,
this figure placed the facility
in the top 56 percent among ICE detention facilities nationwide in the average number of days a detainee spent before he or she was transferred.

Figure 2: Transfer destinations during last 12 months

Where did those transferred get sent? ICE currently has great discretion about
where in the United States transferred detainees are sent. For the period
covered by these data, ICE divided the country into geographic regions or areas
and assigned each to one of 56 document control offices or DCOs for the purpose
of keeping track of detainees. Available data allow us to examine whether the
transfer occurred within the same DCO or the transfer was to a different DCO.
For the nation as a whole during the latest 12 months, about six out of ten
transfers (59 percent) were within the same DCO, while the remaining four out of
ten (41 percent) were to a different DCO.

Transfers

Facility Profile

U.S OverallProfile (%)

Number

Percent

Within region (DCO)

135

79%

59%

Outside region (DCO)

35

21%

41%

Total

170

100%

100%

Table 3: Transfer destinations during last 12 months

Figure 2 and accompanying Table 3 provide some comparative figures for how the
Hamilton County Jail stacks up against this national pattern.
Last year, 79 percent of the transfers from the Hamilton County Jail were to locations in the same
region -- facilities under the control of same ICE docket control office.
Only some (21 percent) of the transfers went to detention facilities in a different region (DCO).

Nationalities

Which nationalities predominate? Last year in the United States, individuals
from Mexico comprised the largest number of those transferred by ICE. Some 37
percent of all transfers recorded Mexico as their country of origin.
The Hamilton County Jail had a similar proportion of detainees from Mexico - 56 percent - among their transfers.
Detainees from Mexico were also the largest single nationality group among the transfers at the facility.

Nationalities Ranked in Top 10

Transfers

Total

To Diff. DCO

% Diff DCO

-

ALL

170

35

20.6 %

1

Mexico

95

21

22.1 %

2

Guatemala

62

13

21.0 %

3

Honduras

6

0

0.0 %

4

El Salvador

5

0

0.0 %

5

Argentina

1

0

0.0 %

Indonesia

1

1

100.0 %

Table 4: Transfers by nationality during the last 12 months

In descending order,
the other top nationalities after Mexico that made up transfers from the Hamilton County Jail last year were:
Guatemala (36%), Honduras (4%), El Salvador (3%), Argentina (1%) and Indonesia (1%).

Figure 3: Transfers by nationality

Out-of-region transfers by nationality. Within the nationalities that made up
those listed in Table 4, the proportion transferred out of the region
varied from 0 percent to 100 percent.
As mentioned above, on average 21 percent of detainees transferred from the Hamilton County Jail were sent to detention
locations outside the region.

For Indonesia with a total of 1 transfers, all transfers were out-of-region transfers.
More than one country was tied with the lowest out-of-region transfer rates (see Table 4).